Sheer heaven

In the 1960s and 1970s, she was one of the coolest chicks in London — David Hockney painted her and everybody wanted to wear her designs. Celia Birtwell was married to the celebrated designer Ossie Clark: she designed the fabrics and he created the sinuous, feminine silhouettes. Together, they made clothes that are still sought-after today. An original Ossie/Celia creation can fetch upwards of £1,500.

So when Topshop asked the iconic designer, who left the industry more than two decades ago (and opened a homeware shop in Notting Hill), to produce a new range, many fashion- watchers broke into a sweat. An original Celia Birtwell print for less than £60 is, after all, something of a bargain.

Birtwell has redrawn and tweaked some of her archive patterns for the project, and Topshop has created some suitably Ossie-inspired silk and cotton tops and dresses using them. “I think